Ed Miliband and Rachel Reeves’ vaunted decision to “delink” gas and electricity prices is likely to raise prices. All for one marketing stunt…
Policy changes announced today ostensibly aim to reduce the frequency at which electricity is sold at gas-linked wholesale prices. The government is doing two things to achieve this:
There are some other piecemeal measures. As the CPS’ Robert Colvile points out, making the CfD switch voluntary will likely raise prices. Voluntary contracts will only get accepted when the fixed price beats the generator’s expected wholesale earnings so the government is likely overpaying relative to where the market would have landed anyway. Generators bullish on high gas prices stay on wholesale and those expecting prices to fall lock in a guaranteed income above future market rates at consumer expense…
That means “breaking the link” is achieved by raising the cost of non-gas electricity to consumers. A DESNZ source tells Guido bills won’t go down: “The only caveat is that raising the levy on generators might give them no choice – but you won’t see bills go down.” The source added: “It’s just a marketing exercise to justify clean power.” More hot air…
Miliband on Sky News this morning:
“As you know, I steered well clear of Mandelson when I became Labour leader in 2010… I had a conversation with David Lammy about it before the appointment, and I said I was worried about it… I think [Lammy] was worried about it too.”
A perfect time to remind everyone he thinks he has better judgement than the (current) Prime Minister. Useful if there’s a vacancy…
The Tony Blair Institute has staged yet another rare intervention against Miliband’s Net Zero fantasy, with a new report accusing him of being too “ideological” and urging the government to approve the drilling of the Jackdaw gas field and the Rosebank oilfield. This is the fourth time in a year that Blair has criticised Labour over Net Zero…
The report, endorsed by Blair himself, says:
“…the UK debate remains too ideological, with the government focused on decarbonising power supply only and the opposition on expanding domestic oil and gas.
“Neither confronts the central challenge: only around a fifth of UK energy demand is currently met through electricity, leaving the wider economy heavily dependent on fossil fuels”
Miliband’s friendly profile in the New Statesman last month revealed he keeps in regular contact with Gordon Brown… but not so much Blair. Old habits…
Gargantuan Silicon Valley tech firm OpenAI has paused a major UK infrastructure project. Blaming energy costs and regulations…
Stargate is being paused:
“We see huge potential for the UK‘s AI future… AI compute is foundational to that goal — we continue to explore Stargate UK and will move forward when the right conditions such as regulation and the cost of energy enable long-term infrastructure investment.”
The project was announced in September when Trump visited the UK. Disaster for Miliband and Labour…
In the latest development to the sorry tale of Labour’s ‘missions,’ the ‘Mission Boards’ that are supposed to deliver on them don’t even have terms of reference yet. Meaning no official structure or goal…
Co-conspirators may remember that the potemkin boards were meant to be chaired by Starmer and were initially set up as Cabinet committees with some weight. They were devolved in November last year and Darren Jones was chosen to chair three umbrella committees instead. Think that meant the end of the pointless mission boards? Au contraire…
Ed Miliband’s “Mission Board: Make Britain a Clean Energy Superpower” does not have a formal designation. The department says: “Terms of Reference for the Board are currently under review.” They’re thinking about it…
It also doesn’t have a list of members other than Miliband: “The board does not have a fixed list of internal or external members, and undertakes engagement with other government departments, external organisations and industry experts depending on the issues identified for discussion.“ Guido can report that government officials are working on coining a German word for that very specific feeling of dread when Ed Miliband sends you a meeting invitation…
Labour Party staff have pleaded for members not to speak to any journalists at an Ed Miliband event tonight. What could legions of party members do to derail the ‘real Prime Minister’s’ event?
The Energy Secretary will be the special guest at the launch of the Southwark Labour 2026 manifesto this evening at a venue in East Dulwich. Also in attendance will be council leader Sarah King and housing minister/Miliband ally Miatta Fahnbulleh, who is MP for Peckham…
An email from party organisers to attendees has warned Labour members off daring to speak to assembled hacks:
“You will be asked to show your Labour Party membership number and/or photo ID for security reasons. The press will be at the launch, but please do not talk to them. We will be taking photos and video of the whole event which will be used in political campaign materials – if you do not want to feature in the photos, please let [RECACTED] know and we will make arrangements. If you could arrive at 6.30pm and we will get our campaign off to a flying start.”
If approached by a journalist remember the three steps: stop, drop, and roll…
Douglas Alexander – a friend of Starmer’s – was asked on Sky News if the PM will be in post at the next election. He wasn’t so sure himself:
“I think he will. There are no certainties but of course I think he will lead and I think he should because, frankly, on the biggest call in this parliament he’s exercised the right judgment, which is to keep us out of someone else’s war.”